Station-indicator.



G. W. MCKENZIE & T. J. WEST.

STATION INDICATOR. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 19, 1912 Patented July 15, 1913.

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0. W. MQKENZIE & T. J. WEST.

STATION INDICATOR, APPLICATION FILED JAN.19, 1912.

msmmg Patented July 15, 1913.-

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[NVE N T ORS ATTORNEY.

G. W. MCKENZIE & T. J. WEST.

STATION INDICATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.19, 1912.

Patented July 15, 1913.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

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A TTORNEY.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

cn nnnns w. McKENZIE, or cENrrna TOWNSHIP, HANCOCK COUNTY, AND rnorms'a.

, wnsr, or GREENFIELD, INDIANA.

STATION-INDICATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 19, 1912. Serial No. 672,170.

have invented a new and useful Station-- Indicator, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompany'ing drawings and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon. This invention relates to station indicators of the type that may be employed most advantageously in electric cars, espedaily in those used in inter-urban passenger trafiic, the invention having reference more particularly to manually operated series of station indicating apparatus especially adapted to be controlled and operated by the motorman of the car. i

The object of the invention is to provide a simplified and improved station indicator of multiplex type that shall be so constructed as to permit of convenient operation by a man at the forward end of the w car, a further object being to provide station indicating apparatus that will not be liable to become disarranged nor to confuse or mislead passengers on the cars and which will be durable and economical'in use.

With the above mentioned and minor objects in view, the invention consists in a station indicator provided with a tell-tale or pilot indicator for the use of the operatoig'and the invention consists further in the novel parts, and in the combinations and arrangements of parts as hereinafter particularly described, and defined in. the accompanying claims.

Referring to the drawings, F igure 1 is a "sectional elevation on the line C C in fragmentary longitudinal central section of an 'interurban car body provided with the improved indicator and operating appliv,ances; Fig. 2, a transverse section on the lin'e' A A in Fig. lpartially broken away;

Fig; 3, a perspective view of a latch comprising a part Fig. 4, a fragmentary sectional elevation on $116 line B, B in Fig. 1 Fig. 5, a fragmengary Fig. '6, a fragmentary horizontal section '2; Fig.

line D D in Fig. 2; Fig. 7, a fragon the mentary section Y Lin Figia; F's Q58, a front elevation of the indicator Casi, g partially broken away and other respects identically the same as the of the operating apparatus;

on the plane of the line E E- exposing mechanism therein; Fig. 9, a frag mentary plan view of an improved web' con' taming the names of the stations, andFig. 10, a sect-ion on the line F F in Fig. 8.

Similar reference characters throughout the drawings indicate corresponding elements or features of construction herein re ferred to. v

The invention is illustrated in connection with a car body that comprises under fram' mg l, a floor 2, sides 3 and 4, a front'com-' prising a center :panel 5 and recedingor rounded side panels 6 and 7, and a roof 8 having a ventilator deck 9, the interior ,of the car body having a partition 10 which divides olf a space known as the vestibule for the use of the motorman, there beinganother partition 11 dividing the remaining portion of the interior into a main passenger compartment and a smokers com partment, the latter adjoining the vestibule.

The car is provided with any desired number of indicators, preferably an indicator 12 mounted on the rearward side of the partition 10 in the smokers compartment and a similar indicator 12 on the rearward side of the partition 11 in the main 'compart nent" Patented July 15, 1913;

and so arranged as to be easily seen byl'th e passengers facing forward, and a tell-tale or pilot indicator 12 which is mounted in the vestibule where it may be seen by the motorman in order to determine what operations are required, the tell-tale indicator preferably being somewhat smaller-but in indicators provided for the information of the passengers, itbeing understood that the motorman is always aware as to the 10- calities through which thecar may be'passing and the names of the various stations along the line of the rail road and, there fore, may unerringly inform the passengers of the names of stations approachedj Each indicator comprises a suitable casing which may be variously constructed and" adapted to be secured uprightly in the car, the casing essentially having two sides 13 and l l, one side having a cylindrical or drum-like spring-casing 15 on its outer side, and a shaft 16 is rotatably mounted in the wall of the spring-casing and also in the opposite wall of the indicator casing, the shaft having a spool 17 thereon. A 'con' volute spring 18 has one end 19- secured .to thecircumferential portion of the spring casing, the opposite lower inner end of the spring normally rotates the shaft in one direction. The casing of the indicator has a suitable front that is connected to the sides 13 and il and extends relatively close to the spool 17. it a suitahle distance above the spool 17 a shaft 21 r 21' is rotatahly mounted in the sides 1:) and 1-1: and has a spool thereon which is adjacent to the front 20. The front "30 of the casing: has a depressed portion 23 that extends vertically in the plane slightly forward of the two shafts and has a sight-glass 2t therein through which to ohserve the station names that are placed on the face of a web 25 that, is secured at its ends 36 and QT to the two spools respectively, the wet) being: rolled from one spool on to the other one by intermittent movements and when stopped shows a station name 23 behind the sighhglass.

In order to bring the station names ac curately at the sight-glass without requiring complicated or trouhlescme operating mechanism the station names are placed at dift'erent distances apart on the weh so that as will be seen in Fig. 9. a name 2! at one end of the web is on a portion of the web that lies closely to the spool. and as the web is wound on the spool the diameter of the roll gradually increases and therefore the sac ceeding' names St. 32. 33. etc. are spaced increasingly *l'arther apart toward the oppo site end of the web. the two names 314 and 9,5 as will be seen are much t'arther apart at the opposite end of the wch than are the names 3; and 2&3 for instance, and it is designed to simply rotate the tt)ltll't)lllli;.{ shaft it or 21' a certain traction of a revolution at each movement. when the wch is rolled on to the spool 22 with the end portion .27 on the outer side ol' the roll ol' the wehhing. it will he understood that with the limited movement of the spool 2'. the portions of the web at the circumt'ereucc ol' the roll will travel through a greater distance than the under portions ol' the \veh that are nearer to'the surface of the pool. 'hen the spool "32 is permitted to turn to unwind the weh there l'lom the spring 1% turns the spool l? to wind the \vch thercon. and thus the web is at all times lttlil in taut. condition and the station names are hrou i'ht lairly into view notwithstamlim: the varying diauictcr ol' the roll on which it is wound. lltt'll shal't 21 is.provided with a hevcl gearavhcel do so that the controlling shal'ts ot all the indicalors may he operated and controlled hy means of a illf "lt main hal't 37 which is rotatahly supported in the several partitions ol the car and al o in a hanger 3H which is secured to the under side ol' the root of the car. snitahle numher ot' hevel gearwheels it) ar secured to the main shaft and in mesh with the near-wheels 36 of the Severat indicators respectively, the main shaft being provided on its end that terminates in the vestibule of the car with a bevel pinion 4-0. A drop hanger provided which coinprises two side hars l1 and 42 which are secured to the under side of the roof and a cross bar t l connected to the side bars. A driving shaft =l--t is rotatably 1nounted in the side bars of the hanger and it is provided with a spline if); A sleeve it; is arranged.

slidingg'ly on the driving shaft and is rotated therehy by means of the spline, the sleeve having two bevel gear-wheels i7 and t8 thereon that areal oppcsite sides of the pinion 4.0 for rotating the pinion and the main shaft in either direction, one gearwheel heine disconnected when the opposite near-wheel is connected with the pinion. The sleeve has a groove li in its periphery for shifting the sleeve and the gear-wheels thereon. The cross hat-4 1 ot' the hanger has an arm thereon provided with a pivot 51 to which is connected at shifte' arm 52 provided with a tort; i that extends into the groove.

.t pivot mis supported on the front portion 5 of the car hodv and supports a shifter lever 55 havinga hiturcated end 56 receivin the end portion of the arm 59. i\ latch har JT is mounted on the front portion of the car body and has two latching recesses .38 and 59 adapted to receive the lever 55 when moved thereto whereby to secure the lever against accidental movement. A ratchet wheel 0 is secured to the driving shat't- 1-1 and adjaeently thereto a. hub 61 is rotatahl mounted on the shaft and has an arm 2 thereon provided with a pivot; 63 to which a pawl 4 is connected so as to engage the teeth of the ratchet wheel, said huh having alsoanother arm 5 thereon provided with a pivot, (36 to which a reach rod HT is connected, the reach rod extending downwardly nearly to the lloor 2 ol' the. car. and it is connected to a foot lever -R which has one end connected to a pivot tit sup ported lrv the car body which supports also a sprint T0, arranged in connection with the l'oot-lcver so as to normally force the loot-lever upward against: a suitahle stoploop Tl which is secured to the floor, the t'ootdever hcing stopped in its downward movement in'contact with the lowermost portion tit-the loop. The extent oi movement ol' the l'ootlever heing limited. it is evident that the movement ol the devices conne ted therewith are also limited in extent so that the controlling; spool 2; can move only a certain proportion of a revolution with each downward movement ol the tool-lever. in order to prevent the spring 18 l'rom reversing the motion ol the mechanism while the pawl (H is being retracted, the cross lull 13 is provided with an arm T9 nearer? that supports a pivot 73 to which a dog 74 is connected so as to ride on the teeth of the ratchet wheel 60 and prevent backward movement of the wheel.

in order to so place the pilot indicator in the vestibule of the car where it can be conveniently observed by the motor-man, it is supported on the side portion 7 of the front of the vestibule and. its controlling shaft 21 extends through the side 13 of the indicator casing and toward the driving mechanism, the indicator casing being provided with a projecting arm 75 provided with a journal box 7 6, and the hanger 38 is provided with an arm 77 which together with the journal box 76 rotatably supports a countershaft 78, the arrangement being such that the countershaft is in the horizontal plane of the main shaft 37 and extends in a vertical plane that is oblique to the vertical plane of the shaft 37. The end portion of the shaft 78 that v is near the shaft 37 has a bevel gear-wheel '79 secured thereto, and the opposite end por tion has a bevel gear-wheel 80 secured thereto which is in mesh with a bevel. gear-wheel 81'that is securedto the shaft 21 of the in dicator. A bevel. gear-wheel 82 is secured to the shaft 37 in mesh with the wheel 79, so

that the pilot indicator is operated in unison with the. indicators in the several compartments of the car.

The front of each indicator in the car compartments occupied by passengers has a signal-bell 83 mounted thereon provided with a hammer 84 operated by suitable electro-magnets 85, and electric current conducted by circuit wires 86 leading into connection with a circuit closer 87 that is movable into connection with a contact device -88 suitably connected with the circuit wire,

thearrangement being such that when the arm 65 is moved downward to operate the webs the arm slides against the circuit'closer and forcesit into contact with the contact device 88, the circuit closer automatically breaking the circuit when released.

, In practical use, when the car is started toward a station the motorman places his foot upon thefoot-lever 68 and forces it entirely down and then removes his foot to permit the spring to retract the footlever and also the pawl 64, the downward movement of the foot-lever causing the pawl to move the ratchet wheel forward in the direction indicated by the arrow thereon in Fig. 5. It is obvious that the web has been previously wound so that it shall be moved in the proper direction in accordance with the direction the car is moving. The motorman can readily glance at the pilot indicator and thereby learn whether or not he may have failed tooperate the indicators when he should have done so, so that any omission in the performance of his duty may 'be quicklv rectified. After passing the sta- .tion indicated the lnotorman again operates the foot-lever, and it will be understood that if the car is not scheduled to stop at the next station prescribed on the web, the webs are moved farther until the name of the station where the next stop is to be made is shownin the indicators. When the car is turned at the end of the line and is about to start on its return trip the motorman moves the lever 55 so as to shift the gear-wheels l7 and 4-8 to cause the main shaft 37 to be rofated in the opposite direction and thereby move the web in the opposite direction.

Other minor results of the operation, of

the mechanism will be clearly understood from the foregoing description of the construction and function of thevarious parts or elements of the apparatus, withoutfurther description. in detail.

Having thus described the inventiornwhat is claimed asnew is- 1. Station indicating: apparatus including a main shaft rotatably supported, two bevel gear-wheels secured to the shaft, a countershaftrotatably supported obliquely to'the main shaft in one and the same horizontal plane therewith, a bevel geanwheel secured to the countershaft and meshing with one of the two bevel gear-wheels, a second bevel gcanwheel secured to the countershaft, a plurality of supported casings, one of the casings facing on a plane at right angles and the remaining casing facing on a plane at oblique angles to the main shaft, each casing having a rotatable shaft, and a plurality of bevel gear-wheels secured respectively to the rotatable shafts and meshing respectively with the remaining one of the two bevel gear-wheels and the second gear wheel.

--2."The combination with a car having an end wall and a partition opposite the wall, of a main shaft rotatably supported and extending through the partition, a station indicator supported on the end wall opposite the partition and operatively connected with the main shaft, a station indicator supported on the farther side of the partition from the wall and opcratively connected with the main shaft, a bevel pinion secured to the main shaft between the wall and the partition, a driving shaft rotatably supported in proximity to the end wall and extending opposite the pinion, two bevel gear-wheels splined to the driving shaft and movable separately to or from the pinion, and means for moving and controlling the gear-wheels.

3. The combination with a car having an end wall and a partition opposite the wall, of a main shaft rotatably supported and extending horizontally through the partition,

a countershaft rotatably supported at an oblique angle in one and the same horizontal and the partition, :1 station indicator supported on the end Wall and operatively coni nected with the countershait, a station indicator supported on the farther side of the partition. from the end Willi and operntively connected with the main shaft, an operating h-rer pivotally su ported at the end wulluai spring normally fexcing the lever in one direotion, a driving shaft, means for operalivel'y connecting the driving shaft with the main shaft, ratchet-gearing mounted on the driving shaft for operation thereof, and a reach -rod connecting, the lever with the ratchet-gearing.

ft. The combination with a car having an end Wall and uv partition opposite the Wall, of :1 main shaft rotntahly supported and tending through the partition, :1 station indicutor supported on the farther side of the partition from the wall and operntively eonnerted with the main shattzi bevel pinion secured to the main shaft between the end wall and the partition, a driving shaft rotintnbly supported in proximity to the end Wall and extending; opposite the pinion, :1 sleeve splined to the driving shaft, two bevel. wheels fixed on the sleeve at opposite sides of the pinion, a movably supported shifter connected with the sleeve a hitch supported on the end Wall and engaged by the shifter, a ratchet. wheel secured to the driving shaft, it pivotnlly supported dog engaging the ratchet vheel, u hub rotatably mounted on the driving shaft and having two arms there on, a pziwi pivoted to one of the arms and having: contact with the ratchet Wheeh a reach rod connected to the remaining one of the arms a foot-lever pivotnlly supported at.- the end wall and connected to the rod, a spring normally forcing the toot-lever upward, and stops for limiting the movement of the foot-lever.

In testimony whereof, We atlix our signatures in presence of two Witnesses.

CHAS. "W. MoKENZIE. 'lHOli IAE'? J. WEST.

Witnesses PAUL H. Nniv, A. NEWTON RHUE. 

